iPhone 5 Preorders Set Record: 10 Things Enticing Customers to Buy

The iPhone 5 set a new record for preorders with Apple selling more than 2 million units in the first 24 hours, alone. So, what helped the latest iPhone model achieve this milestone. The reasons are numerous.

Apple's iPhone 5 is a hit. The smartphone, which Apple will start shipping on Sept. 21,
set
a new preorder record on Sept. 14 with buyers snapping up more than 2 million
units sold in just 24 hours of availability. The preorders easily surpassed
the old record of more than 1 million iPhone 4S units that were preordered in
the first day of availability a year ago.
With a new record under its belt, speculation abounds over what made the iPhone 5 so
popular. Some say the features were enough to get consumers excited. Others say
that simply because Apple offered up the handset, customers flocked to the
device. Whatever the case, Apple's iPhone 5 is wildly popular. By the look of
things, it'll offer up some solid results for the iPhone maker when its
financials for the third quarter come out next month.

But the iPhone 5's initial sales success is worth a deeper look. There are multiple
reasons why demand for the new smartphone quickly surged after its
introduction on Sept. 12. It's just too easy to say that it has to do with
the device's bigger display or Apple's brand.

Let's take a look at the many reasons why so many people are deciding to buy the iPhone
5 as Apple ships them.
1. The 4G LTE
Apple's 4G LTE integration in the iPhone 5 could be the biggest advancement the
smartphones offers. Previously, Apple only delivered 3G service to the iPhone.
Now, with 4G LTE support, users will have much faster connection speeds. On
AT&T's network, they'll also be able to bridge the gap between 3G and 4G
LTE with HSPA+ whenever the faster connection isn't available.
2. iPhone 4S boredomApple's
iPhone 4S was a bit of a bore. Yes, that device set the previous Apple preorder
record. But don't forget that it did so because more carriers offered the
iPhone 4S on launch day. The iPhone 4S was a catch-up device. So, many ignored
the iPhone 4S and chose to hold out for the iPhone 5.
3. Better performance is exciting
The iPhone 5 ships with the company's A6 processor. Benchmarks that have leaked
onto the Web show that the chip can perform some tasks four times faster than
the A5. In other tasks, the jump is double. Either way, the better performance
is enough to get power users excited and ready to pounce on preorders.
4. The new design is impressiveApple's
iPhone 5 design is not a major update over the iPhone 4S, but it's an
impressive one, nonetheless. As the smartphone industry has shown time and
again, design is extremely important to consumers. And in the case of the
iPhone 5, it might have been a key reason so many people rushed to preorder the
handset.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.